h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Eratosthenes
http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/erat.htm

great link eddie.

mister dread. you are assuming longitudinal opposite rather than lattitude. (or some combination of the two) the measurements do need to be done at the same time however. which is where the simulutaneous flowering would have been handy.

Ah yes, silly me.

He wanted to live in Finland. She wanted to live in Australia. Thus they parted. She just didn't like his lattitude.

Edward, that was shocking.

Speaking of opposite sides of the world... there are only a very few locations where one could theoretically dig a hole through the center of the Earth and come out on land (as opposed to ocean floor). In the states, through the ubiquity of Bugs Bunny cartoons and similar meme carriers, most Americans think they would dig to China. They seem to forget there is a Southern Hemisphere (as do most "around the world" travellers like Richard Branson, Ewan McGregor and most recently Steve Fosset.)

I don't have my globe handy, but basically there are a few remote islands that are diametrically opposed to land masses.

Of course if you did have alot of time on your hands(rest of your life kind of thing) you could probably make it to the mantle of the earth, then die in a spectacular ball of flame.

The deepest hole I know of was drilled in Zapolyarniy, Kola Peninsula former Soviet Union from 1970 to 1994 and reached a depth of 12 km (7.2 miles). But I seem to recall hearing something on the news about a new deep drilling project currently being undertaken that may exceed this.

Seeing as the upper mantle goes from a depth of 10 km to 400 km we have a long ways to go before breaking through that... Seeing as the mantle-core boundary is around 4000 K you better bring some cold drinks.

I remember a book I read in the late 1960s (when I was a teen) about a digging through the earth project - quite exciting - based I believe, on the Mohole project.

is there a name for the exact opposite portion of the globe? would it still be called the antipode regardless of which hemisphere you were in?

i live in adelaide south australia. i think the exact opposite portion of the planet is in the bermuda triangle.

i suspect this is where my money goes.

Antipodal is the correct term for something on the opposite side of the globe.

Diametrically opposed is also correct.

cheers

I'm not wearing any underwear!

Now that's a uselesss fact!

In fact I only wear underpants on Tuesday and Thursday nights
and either on Saturday or Sunday.

See if you can guess why!

You only have three pairs of underwear? And you want to spread them out?

You work in a lap dancing joint on a Tuesday, Thursday and either a Saturday or Sunday nights?

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you're an incoporeal entity?

You prefer to go commando. But you have an unfortunate problem with chaffage and you periodically have to take the time to heal. I have that problem myself. I find that nappy cream helps.


Oh dear! Have I 'shared too much'?

You only wear a kilt on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Ah...from personal experience, pantsless kilts are 'a bad thing'. Darned uncomfortable.

Talcum Powder - Johnstones by choice